Cool Guy Chronicles 1: Adventures
by FutureAuthoress
Summary: Yes, it's finished. A beginning to my minibookseries Cool Guy Chronicles This one is mostly about Spongebob and Sandy, and yes, there's some SpongebobxSandy in it. If you don't like that, then hey, you don't have to read it! Anyway, Enjoy!
1. KahrahTAY!

**Chapter 1 "Kah-rah-TAY!"**

Spongebob glanced out his bedroom window at the morning sky.

"Good morning, Bikini Bottom!" he whispered, as to not awaken Gary.

He made his way downstairs, and pondered what he should have for breakfast. Nothing sounded appetizing. In fact, he was hardly hungry at all. Who culd be hungry, when they couldn't take their mind off of a surprise karate attack this afternoon?

The thought of karate finally aroused his appetite, and he decided on some cold cereal.

As he ate, he wondered what Sandy was up to right now...

-----

Sandy Cheeks, the _only_ squirrel to inhabit Bikini Bottom, (or any other underwater town for that matter), made a face in the mirror.

It was her scariest one yet, she decided, and it would have to do.

"Spongebob will never see this coming," she thought aloud, grinning at her reflection. "Hi-YAH!" she sparred into a dramatic karate chop, and then blew imaginary smoke off of her fingertips.

Her smile grew wider.

"Say your prayers, Squarepants!"

-----

Spongebob, not wanting to draw attention to himself, quietly exited his pineapple house through the back door.

"Sandy is toast," he muttered, smiling playfully.

-----

Sandy checked carefully outside her treedome before exiting. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she walked carefully in the direction of Spongebob's house.

-----

Spongebob scurried behind a tree, when he noticed a cautious figure making it's way down the road. He recognized the figure as Sandy. She moved into the cover of a tree that was dangerously close to his own hiding spot.

-----

Sandy pretended to be oblivious to her friend's subtle presence, and oblivious still when he ran behind the tree she was using for shade.

-----

Spongebob smiled. _She still hasn't seen me!_ he thought.

He brought his eyes slowly around the trunk of the big tree, trying to get a sight on his opponent before he attacked.

But when he looked, she had disappeared.

"What?" he whispered, taking a dangerous step out into the open.

"Hi-YAH" before he could see what was happening, strong hands were on his shoulders, sending him first flying into the air, then crashing into the tree beside him.

"Thought you could sneak up on me, huh?" Spongebob immediately recognized that sweet southern drawl, and, recovoering from the impact of his head with the tree, said

"You are mistaken, for it is _you_ who thought you could sneak up on _me!"_ he tried to kick Sandy's legs out from underneath her, but she jumped up, and he missed, sliding in the sand.

Spongebob barely had time to get up before Sandy had grabbed his right arm ad twisted it behind him, then threatened to do the same to his left.

Spongebob nearly wailed, but it came out as more of a squeak of terror.

"Give up yet?" Sandy asked, good naturedly.

"Never!" Spongebob replied, somewhat in pain, but matching her friendly tone.

"Suit yourself!" she teased, and flipped him over into the dirt.

He stood up and dusted himself off. "I'm just getting warmed up!" he said.

Sandy laughed playfully, and lunged at Spongebob, who avoided the lethal blow by dodging smoothly to the left.

"You have to be faster, Sandy!" and with his words, he grabbed her arm and flipped her over his head twice.

"Nice one!" She complimented, standing up.

"Why, thank you." Spongebob said.

They were both fixing to attack again, when they heard a deep voice calling frantically

"Spongebob! SPONGEBOB!"

They froze, as they saw their starfish friend, Patrick, running in their direction.

"Spongebob! Sandy!" he called repeatedly, as he grew closer.

"What's wrong, Patrick?" Spongebob asked.

Patrick stopped running and tried to catch his breath.

Spongebob tried again. "Pat, what's wrong?"

Patrick looked up. "What?"

"What's up, Patrick?" Sandy asked, concerned but not too worried.

"What's up with what?" Patrick seemed confused.

"Well...just a minute ago you seemed frantic," Spongebob told him.

Patrick perked up, as if remembering. "Oh yeah! They sent me to tell you!"

"Who sent you, to tell us what?" Sandy asked, beginning to grow impatient.

"Mr. Krabs and them! To tell you that it's back!"

"What's back?" Spongebob asked with a quizzical expression.

Patrick's eyes grew wide. "The worm."

-------------------------

**The "-----" indicates changing from one person's point of view to another...just a quick note!  
Hope you like the story so far! It's about to get good...I think...**


	2. Big, Pink, and Scary

**Chapter 2 "Big, Pink, and Scary!"**

"Sandy, you can't tell me you're gonna go after this thing again?" Spongebob panted, frantically trying to keep up with his friend.

"I'm not going it alone, this time!" she exclaimed, running faster.

Spongebob struggled to keep up. "But Sandy, no one in Bikini Bottom would dare go after an Alaskan Bull Worm! Especially not after last time!"

-----

The two arrived at Sandy's treedome. Sandy seemed unfazed by the long hard run, but Spongebob had his hands on his knees, gasping for breath.

Sandy smiled. "I'm not having any_one_ help me," she said.

Spongebob looked confused.

Sandy laughed. "Say hello to Project 203!" she said, pressing a button on the dome.

Two hatch doors by the side of the treedome appeared, and Sandy pulled out a giant tube.

"But--I thought this was where you kept your rocket--" Spongebob started to protest, and then remembered that he'd crashed Sandy's rocket, and decided to be quiet.

Sandy laughed again. "It was!"

"So...what's it do?" Spongebob asked.

Sandy's grin grew even wider. "It's a giant vacuum cleaner. I've been waiting for a chance to test it, and I figured this is the darndest best chance I'm gonna get!" she said.

"Oh," Spongebob looked the contraption over. "But, where does it all go?"

"Well Spongebob, I'm glad you asked!" Sandy picked up a roll of paper, opened it, and showed it to Spongebob. "I built a giant holding tank underground, which wasn't too hard considering there was already a space there from the rocket," she nudged him in a playful accusation, "and it automatically empties itself into the Bikini Bottom Dump after each use." she beamed, waiting for Spongebob to say something.

-----

Spongebob was honestly impressed. "Wow, Sandy! How long have you been working on this?" he asked.

"Since the rocket," she teased.

Spongebob felt his face go hot. He wished she would quit bringing that up, but then again, it _was_ his fault.

"Any more questions?" she asked.

Spongebob shook his head _NO_.

"Alright then, let's test this thing out!"

-----

Sandy ran slightly in front of Spongebob, holding the front end of the long nozzle connecting to her giant vacuum cleaner.

"Okay, so what was the plan again?" Spongebob sounded nervous.

She wasn't surprised. He had completely flipped out on her the _first_ time she went to take this thing on. But now, she had a better idea of it's monstrosity, and it shouldn't be too hard to take him down with this thing.

"You'll call his attention, then run as FAST as you can, Spongebob! I'll sneak up behind him and turn the vacuum on, he'll be sucked down the pope into the hold, and then later relased to the dump." she explained. "Got all that? Sound good?"

He was sounding less and less sure by the minute. "Yeah, sounds good," he said. "Except for the part where I call his attention," he muttered nervously.

Sandy knew she wasn't supposed to hear that, but couldn't help responding. "You'll be fine, Spongebob! I'll catch him before he can come near you." she assured him.

-----

Spongebob felt slightly bolder after hearing his friend's words, but couldn't help being scared half to death. What if something went terribly wrong, like it normally did?

Nearing the city, Spongebob didn't have time to ponder his thoughts, as he heard the kind of mayhem and chaos that could only be caused by an Alaskan Bull Worm...or a butterfly.

When he could actually see the creature, he was sure he would melt. It was bigger than he remembered!

"Alright, ya'll remember our plan, right?"

"Uh-uh-huh..." Spongebob stuttered.

"Good! Now, git out there!"

On shaking legs, Spongebob placed himself where, normally, he wouldn't dare be; right in next to the worm.

In a voice he wasn't quite sure was his own, he shouted "Hey!"

The worm froze.

"Hey you!"

The worm turned around to face him.

"Yeah, that's right, you!" his voice cracked, and he was itching to run away. "Come and get some!"

As the worm lunged in his direction, Spongebob made a dash for it, running faster than he ever remembered running.

-----

"Go Spongebob, Go!" Sandy rooted. "Now, let's put this plan into action!"

She ran up behind the worm and flipped the switch on the cleaner, or at least, _tried_ to.

"What in tarnation?" she exclaimed, pulling harder on the switch.

"It's jammed!"

-----

"Jammed!?" Spongebob exclaimed, still running.

"Hold him off while I fix it, Spongebob!" she told him.

Hold him off? Just how was he supposed to do that? Well, he'd think of _something_.

"Run faster, Spongebob!" he muttered to himself.

He ran past an overturned boat, then looked up to see that the worm had used it as a ramp, and was now flying above him. Spongebob covered his head with his hands, and braced for impact.


	3. Sickening Surprises

**Chapter 3 "Sickening Surprises"**

Sandy pulled desperately on the switch until it snapped off. She threw the tube down in frustration.

"Spongebob! Call off the plan!" she shouted.

No reply.

"Spongebob?" she couldn't see him anywhere. Where was he? Had he been..._eaten_?

The thought gave her a new wave of guilt--and adrenaline.

"Eat my friends, will ya?" she growled. "I'll show you what happens when you mess with Texas!" Red in the face, Sandy charged the creature with a new fury.

Using Karate shouts for effect, Sandy kicked, chopped, and punched the air until she reached the worm.

"Hi-YAH!" her first move on the worm. But, when her hand made contact, it bounced off with a metallic _clank_.

"What the heck?" the worm turned around to face her, barring it's huge silver teeth.

Wait a minute...silver? Ignoring it's threatening pose, Sandy climbed up on top of the worm. As she did, she noticed an iron paneling that she hadn't seen before.

She found a lifting spot on it's back, dug her fingers underneath, and started pulling, peeling off some of the top layer, and revealing a set of electronics.

"But who would build a fake bullworm?" she wondered aloud. The worm bucked up, sending her sprawling a few feet away, but not off of the worm's back. She gritted her teeth and held on tight, crawling back to the hole she'd made. She sorted through a bunch of colored wires, holding on for dear life, until she found a gray wire, the power wire.

"I hope this works," she muttered, pulling on it until it snapped.

The worm kept moving, but it was slowing down.

When it came to a complete stop, Sandy jumped down off the top and into the mouth.

As she had expected, the inside was hollow, lined with electronics.

"Curses!" one small voice could be heard. A deep voice.

Plankton's voice.

Sandy ran in the direction of the sound. When Plankton spotted her, he tried frantically to unbuckle his seatbelt. But _it_, like Sandy's vacuum cleaner, was jammed. She helped him out of his seat by grabbing hold of him and yanking him up near her face.

"What'd you do with Spongebob?" she demanded.

Plankton cackled viscously. "Find him yourself, squirrel!" he retorted. He pressed a button, and, before Sandy could stop him, he was gone.

"Sandy!" she heard a weak, muffled cry from the back of the machine. "Sandy, I'm back here!" It was Spongebob's voice.

Sandy pushed through a pile of fallen debris. "Call again, so I can find you!" she shouted.

"I'm under here!"

She was practically on top of him! She dug through several pieces of bashed up metal, but it wasn't until she lifted up a particularly heavy piece that she found her friend.

"Spongebob!" she exclaimed. "Let me pull ya outta there, buddy!"

"Wait! My arms are strapped to this chair!" he sounded tired, and hurt.

After digging up several more pieces of junk, Sandy found the straps. "Wait right here, I'm gonna go get something to cut this with," and she took off.

"Don't worry, I won't go anywhere," she heard him wheeze.

sandy ran to the front of the giant robot. "Come on, knife, knife!" she muttered, digging around. She found a sharp piece of metal, and for the second time that day, decided that it would just have to do.

"I'm comin' Spongebob!" she shouted, dramatically.

Spongebob's face looked pale. Sandy cut the leather, and Spongebob pulled his hands up to his face, rubbing his wrists. He smiled up at her. "You did it, Sandy!" he said, weakly.

"No Spongebob, _we_ did it," she smiled.

"Yeah, we did," Spongebob managed to say, before loosing consciousness.

"Spongebob? Spongebob!" Sandy frantically shook her friend. "Come on little guy, wake up!"


	4. ReCount

**Chapter 4 "Recount"**

"Is he gonna be alright?"

_Flashes of light._

"He'll be fine, just give him a couple of days."

_A loud banging noise, pain._

_I've got you now, Squarepants!_

_His hands were restrained. He couldn't move._

"What's wrong with him?"

_See if your squirrel friend can find you now!_

"Nothing much, he's in shock, that's all."

_Don't you dare hurt her!_

"So...he'll be alright?"

_Oh Spongebob, you're so naive! _

"Yes, he'll be fine."

_It's not her I want!_

"No problem, Miss Cheeks. Are you sure you want to stay here? You've been here all night."

_It's you._

"I'll be fine,"

_It's you._

_YOU!_

Spongebob jerked awake, frightened and confused. He took in his surroundings, and slowly realized he was in a hospital.

"Sandy?" he tried to say, but found that he could barely whisper.

Sandy's gaze moved from the door to the sponge lying on the hospital bed.

"Spongebob, you're awake!" her face lit up, and Spongebob felt better already.

"What--how long have I been here?"

"About 22 hours," Sandy replied, gently.

Spongebob sat up. "Have you been here all this time?" he asked.

"Yeah," she put her hands on the rail to the bed. "I'm _so_ glad you're awake now."

"Thanks, Sandy," he said, softly.

"For what?" Sandy seemed puzzled that she should be thanked for anything.

Spongebob put his hand over hers. "For saving my life, and then being there afterward."

Sandy looked at the floor. "It was my fault you were in that much trouble to begin with," she said.

Spongebob put his hand on her face, making her look up at him. **(a/n: Okay, I know, I know "Meg, what about the helmet?" just use your imagination, alright? A guy putting his hand on a girl's face is just so...romantic! Don't like my writing style, then go read something else!)**

"Sandy, don't think like that," he whispered. I--if--I should have...run...faster," he stuttered.

Sandy giggled. "I love you, Spongebob." she said.

Spongebob stared at her for a moment.

"Er, I mean--" she stuttered, trying to explain herself.

Spongebob laughed quietly. "I think you're cool too, Sandy." he said.

Sandy laughed sheepishly, looking down at the bed rail.

Spongebob took his hand off of hers, and it was his turn to blush. "Sorry," he muttered.

They looked at each other, and this time they both laughed.

--------------------

**Sorry the chapter's so short, I was itching to get to the next part of the story. So...how's the story so far? Keep reading!**


	5. Thou Shalt not Bear False Witness

**Chapter 5 "Thou Shalt not Bear False Witness"**

2 DAYS LATER

Spongebob sighed, settling down into his couch. His _own_ couch.

"It's so good to be back," he said. His voice was recovering nicely, considering he'd nearly been crushed to death, and almost lost it in the hospital.

"Meow," Gary commented.

Spongebob grinned. "That's a great idea, Gary! I'll bet Squidward would _love_ a visit from me! He'll be so happy to know I'm okay!"

He skipped merrily nextdoor. The front door was still missing from the "worm" attack.

"Squidward?" he called, entering the doorway. There was no reply. "Squidward?" he stepped inside completely. "Where are you, Squiddy ol' pal?" Still, no answer. Spongebob decided to let himself in. "Wow, Plankton really got to this place," Spongebob said, observing the damage.

He glanced over at the couch, and noticed a lonely object sitting on the coffee table. It was long, black, tubular, and all dusty.

"Hey look, a rugbeater!" Spongebob said aloud to himself. "Oh, how did Squidward know I needed one of these?" he muttered, taking the object in his hands. "Oh, I'm sure he won't mind if I borrow it! After all, it will only be a few minutes." he smiled and walked outside.

MEANWHILE

Squidward was just drying off from his morning shower, humming along with his radio. He was all joyful, ready for the day!

Oh no, ready. Spongebob was supposed to be coming home from the hospital today. Squidward sighed and looked in the mirror.

"Well, hopefully he'll be too tired to cause any trouble for a couple of days," he said to himself. Once dressed, he walked downstairs.

"Now, to treat Bikini Bottom to a delicacy!" Squidward sat down at his couch.

He reached for his clarinet,

But it wasn't there.

"SPONGEBOB!"

-----

Spongebob picked up his doormat.

"Mister doormat, meet mister rugbeater!" He picked up the rug and gave it a few violent smacks, when the rugbeater broke in half.

"Well, that's odd," Spongebob said. "Wait _right here_I'll go get some super glue," and he walked inside his house.

There was a frantic banging at the door barely five seconds after Spongebob was inside.

"Coming!" he sang, whirling around and dashing back to the door. He opened up to see a red-faced Squidward, with steam practically emitting off of him.

"Oh, hey Squidward!" Spongebob said. "I came over, but I couldn't find you. I borrowed your rugbeater, the doormat was kinda dusty, and--"

"You mean this!?" Squidward held up two broken pieces of his clarinet (i.e. the rugbeater). "You broke it in half!" he declared.

Spongebob shrunk back just a little bit. "If that's what you're so worked up about, I was just about to fix--"

"IT'S NOT A RUGBEATER YOU MORON!" Squidward shouted. "It is--was--my clarinet! And you BROKE it!"

"Spongebob, still oblivious to his neighbor's rage, said "Well, I can pay for a new one,"

"_This_ is an antique!" Squidward thundered. "It cost me four thousand dollars! NOT including tax!"

"Well, Squidward, I--"

"_Forget it!_" He yelled, right before slamming the door in Spongebob's apologetic face.

"I'm sorry," Spongebob whispered.

---

Later that day, Spongebob made his way over to Squidward's house. He knocked next to the door.

Squidward answered almost immediately.

"Squidward, I--"

"Spongebob! How good to see you! Why don't you come in? You look tired. Can I get you anything? How about lemonade?" Wow, Squidward was acting strange.

"Well, actually, Squidward, I just--"

"Great! Lemonade it is then!" he sat Spongebob at the dining room table. "I'm just gonna finish a phone call real quick," he said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"No, sit tight, relax!" Squidward replied. "I'll be right back!"

Squidward walked back into the kitchen. Spongebob glanced around the dining room, taking note of the fact that Plankton's machine hadn't done any damage in this room.

Spongebob tried his best not to eavesdrop on Squidward's conversation, but when he heard Patrick's name, he couldn't help but listen.

"Patrick Star? Are you sure?"

_Short pause_

"Going out with Sandy Cheeks?"

Another pause. Spongebob felt confused, only hearing one side of the conversation.

"And you're sure we're talking about the same Patrick Star and Sandy Cheeks, right?" Squidward's voice sounded wierd. "Of course. Bye!" He hung up the phone, and Spongebob scurried back to the table.

Squidward shortly re-entered the dining room carrying a small tray. On it sat two glasses of lemonade, and a clear pitcher. He seemed to notice the confused look on Spongebob's face.

"Well, I'm glad you came," he said, over-enthusiastically.

Spongebob, who had now forgotten his initial reason for visiting, gave a tense chuckle.

"Uh, yeah. Well, thanks for having me Squidward, I've gotta fly!" He smiled briefly at his neighbor, and then dashed out the front door to his house.

"What was that about Patrick and Sandy? And _why_ had it tripped him out so badly?

--------------------

**Exodus 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour**

**Thanks for reading, I hope you're enjoying! Sorry it's taking so long to upload, I'm finishing each part of the story before I upload it so that you're not left going "AHHH WHAT HAPPENS NEXT!?!?!?" because trust me...I know that feeling!**

**Once again, feedback of all types is appreciated!**


	6. What's Wrong with Spongebob?

**Chapter 6 "What's wrong with Spongebob?"**

Sandy knocked on Patrick's rock. When there came no reply, she knocked harder. The rock then popped up, revealing Patrick laying on the underside of it.

"Hey Sandy!" he said, before falling and crashing to the ground.

"Heyya Patrick," she began, "I was just on my way over to ask you and Spongebob if ya'll wanted to join me for a picnic in jellyfish fields, when I saw Spongebob run inside all freaked out and what not."

"Well, what do you think is wrong with him?" Patrick asked, climbing out of the hole and closing his rock.

Sandy sighed. "Dunno, I was hoping _you_ could tell _me_." she told him.

"Well, let's go ask him," Patrick suggested.

Sandy shrugged again. "Okay, sure."

Next thing, Sandy found herself knocking on Spongeob's door.

"Coming!" his giddy call could he heard from inside.

The door opened, and Spongebob's countenance fell slightly.

"Oh, hey Pat, Sandy." he looked troubled--almost hurt.

"Yer actin' a little...weird..." Sandy said.

"Oh, am I?" his tone indicated a slight sarcasm.

"Wanna have a picnic and go jellyfishing?" Patrick asked.

Spongebob's expression grew brighter. "Yeah, that sounds fun!" he said.

-----

On their way to jellyfish fields, Spongebob couldn't help but stare at his friends. Was it true? After all, Sandy usually came to _his_ house first, because it was closer. So...were Sandy and Patrick _really_ dating eachother? And if they were, why? Why hadn't they at least _said_ something to him?

"Spongebob, you okay?" Sandy's voice snapped Spongebob back to reality, and he realized he'd been walking in silence, and the three were almost to jellyfish fields.

"Uh yeah, I'm fine." he stuttered.

She didn't look convinced.

Spongebob nervously glanced down the road. "Guess I'm just a little...tired from last week," he muttered. It felt wrong to lie, but what could he say? _I'm worried that you might be dating Patrick_? And was he worried? He needed to get home and sort out his thoughts.

"Uh guys...I thought I could do this, but now, I'm not so sure," his voice trailed guiltily off.

Sandy didn't look quite like she believed his earlier excuse, but whatever her suspicions, she let is slide. "Okay then, you get some rest," she said.

Spongebob flashed a thankful smile, and then walked quickly away.

"I wonder what's wrong," he heard Sandy say mournfully, before he was out of earshot.


	7. Can Squiddy make the Words come Out?

**Chapter 7 "Can Squiddy Make the Words Come Out?"**

Spongebob walked inside his pineapple. He'd turned down jellyfishing. _How_ could he have turned down jellyfishing? And not _just_ jellyfishing, jellyfishing with Patrick and Sandy. But he wanted time to think. He _needed_ time to think. He _knew_ he needed time to think.

What had made him act so weird? Why had it bothered him to begin with? "Gary, what's going on inside my head?" Spongebob muttered, stroking his pet snail's shell.

"Meow?"

"Yeah, I think I was rude about it too."

"Meow."

"What?" Spongebob held Gary up and looked at him. "You don't really think so...do you Gare-Bear?"

---

Envelope in hand, Spongebob knocked on Squidward's door post.

A moment later, Squidward's upside-down face appeared. "What?"

Spongebob cleared his throat. "I just came over to apologize for earlier...I'm sorry I broke your clarinet, a-and I should have asked your permission before taking it anyway. I wanted to say something earlier, but then--uh nevermind." he held up the envelope. "This is for you, too."

Squidward took the small package. "What's this?" he asked.

"It's four-thousand five-hundred dollars...to cover the cost of the broken clarinet."

Squidward stared at Spongebob for a moment, almost as if unbelieving. "Where...where does somebody just _get_ this much money?" he asked.

Spongebob shrugged. "I was saving up for a new boat...for when I get my license...but then the clarinet...and well here." he turned around to walk away.

"Ah...Spongebob?" Squidward interrupted.

Spongebob turned around. "Yeah?"

"Did you happen to..._overhear_ me...talking on the phone earlier?"

Spongebob wasn't sure he should answer truthfully, but after already lying once, he went with the truth. "Yeah, I did."

"Well I wasn't actually--talking, to anybody. I mean, I--oh boy."

Spongebob was even more confused. "Huh?"

"Look, I-I," Squidward sighed. "I _made up_ that story about Patrick dating Sandy...to make you jealous, in order to get you back for breaking my clarinet. The whole thing was just..._me_. Just be being..." his voice trailed off.

"Being...?"

Squidward glanced at the ground. "Being mean." he finished.

"But why would I be jealous?" Spongebob asked, innocently.

Squidward choked back a laugh. "Spongebob, all of Bikini Bottom can tell that you and Sandy have a _thing._"

A look of puzzlement crossed Spongebob's face. "But, no! We're just--"

This time, Squidward _did_ laugh. "Just friends," he said. "Sandy and Spongebob sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Spongebob blushed madly, as Squidward continued the taunt.

Squidward laughed once more, before wiping amused tears from his eyes. "Ah-hah! I'm sorry Spongebob, it's just that you're so oblivious!" Squidward laughed again, and then sighed. "Well, good luck with that sponge-brain." he said, and walked back inside.

Spongebob walked back inside of his house, then stared at the closed door for a moment. That was two opinions; Gary AND Squidward. And now that Spongebob thought about it, maybe they were right. Maybe he _did_ have feelings for Sandy.

There was just _one thing_ left to do now.

-----

Sandy swung her net half-heartedly at a jellyfish. She was trying to figure out _why_ Spongebob had walked away earlier. Maybe he was still in bad shape from that worm incident. She hoped it wasn't _her_ that was causing him trouble. Maybe she should go check on him...

But, if _she_ was causing him distress, shouldn't she just stay away? She was going over all this in her head, when she heard a familiar sound.

"Hi-YAH!" she felt pressure on her arm, and in a split second she was laying her on back, looking up into Spongebob's grinning face.

Reluctantly, Sandy let a smile creep across her lips.

Never mind that Spongebob has managed to launch a surprise karate attack on her, she was just glad he was alright.

"Gotcha!" he teased.

Sandy was so glad to see that innocent buck-tooth smile. She jumped up and faced her friend. "Alright Squarepants, you got yer little jump on me, now prepare to be whooped!"

And so the karate match began, and the day continuted in peaceful play.


	8. That Stupid Book

**Chapter 8 "Stupid Book"**

"I'm ready!" Spongebob burst through the front door of his pineapple house. "I'm ready! I'm ready!" Spongebob ran down the road toward the Krusty Krab.

_I love Monday!_ he thought. _I can't wait to get to the Krusty Krab for another fantabulous day of patty flipping!_

Spongebob arrived at the front door of the Krusty Krab, straightened his tie and hat, and walked through the doors. He quickly punched in, then ran to tidy up the kitchen. A few minutes later, Squidward arrived, moping like usual.

"Good morning, Squidward!" Spongebob called through the kitchen window.

Squidward didn't acknowledge the hello, taking his station and staring off into space.

Mr. Krabs walked out of his office wearing a happy grin. "Mornin' boys!" he said.

Squidward rolled his eyes.

"Ahoy, Mr. Krabs!" Spongebob chimed.

"Listen up boys," Mr. Krabs called. "I'm having an employee performance competition tomorrow, winner gets this!" he held up a hat with a golden-yellow anchor embroidered on the front.

Spongebob's eyes grew wide, and Squidward "Hmmphed".

"Good luck!" Mr. Krabs called, before scuttling back into his office.

"That hat is all mine," Spongebob whispered, glancing and Squidward and hoping to provoke a response.

"Mmhmm."

"I mean, there's no _way_ you could win," Spongebob pushed.

"Nope."

"After all, a boring lazy employee like you could _never_ beat a hardworking good-mannered employee like me," he wasn't being serious, but it didn't look like it was working, either.

"Whatever. Wait--I am not lazy!" Squidward finally retorted.

Spongebob glanced around Squidward's messy work station.

"Alright, so I'm a _little bit_ less hardworking than I could be."

Spongebob pasted an un-impressed expression on his face.

Squidward growled. "Fine, I'll show you! I'll beat you in that employee performance competition tomorrow!" he said.

Spongebob grinned. "Yeah, we'll see about that," he ducked back into the kitchen and silently congratulated himself. He loved seeing Squidward's competitive side, it was boring always winning Mr. Krabs favor without a contest. The only time it had really gotten ugly was that employee of the month incident. Mr. Krabs had practically exploded, and he'd made Spongebob and Squidward work two months free.

But that didn't matter. Spongebob was just happy to see Squidward working hard.

_**Later that day...**_

Spongebob knocked three times on the door to Sandy's treedome.

"Uh, comin'!" Sandy's voice came through the door, then she opened it. "Well, howdy Spongebob!" she said, smiling. "I was just makin' some cookies, come on in!"

Spongebob accepted her offer, seating himself at the picnic table.

"Y'all wait right here," she told him. "I'll be right back." she walked back to her tree, setting a pink book down on a small stand outside the door.

Spongebob let his eyes wander around a moment, thinking of all the fun times him and Sandy had in this dome.

He remembered when he'd first met Sandy. His first impression of her had been "Wow!"

His eyes wandered around some more, and came again to rest on that little pink book. The words on the minder read "My Diary, by Sandy Cheeks".

Her diary, eh? What kind of interesting things would Sandy have to say in her diary? He stared at the book for a moment. _No, Spongebob,_ he cautioned himself. _Every time you give in to your curiosity, something bad happens._ He studied the wood pattern on the table, but before too long, his eyes wandered back to the book. At that moment, it was almost as if two forces inside his head started fighting.

_Take it, Spongebob, she probably writes lots of stuff about you! After all, she's your best friend. She won't mind._

Then, the other side of his brain would speak up. _No, that's a bad idea, Sponge. She'll never forgive you! You could never be friends with her again..._

Then the bad side again: _Not if she doesn't find out! Just take it, read it, and put it back before she misses it!_

If only to stop his mind from arguing with...itself...Spongebob stood up and grabbed the diary.

He was about to open it, when he heard the door to Sandy's tree open. He shoved the tiny book into his pocket, and pretended to look around.

Sandy sat down across from him. "Cookies ain't quite done yet," she said, then laughed. "'Member the first time you came over for tea and cookies?" she asked.

Spongebob chuckled tensely. "Yeah, of course! How could I forget?" he put his hand over his pocket.

Sandy sighed. "I can't believe we've been friends for eight years!" she said. "There's no secret I would trust you with." She smiled, and Spongebob felt her leg brush against his, sending chills through his body.

_DING!_

"Oh, there's the cookies!" Sandy got up and walked back into her tree, and for the first time, Spongebob notices her hips swaying from side to side as she walked.

_Now's your chance!_ his concience said. _Put the diary back, and just forget about it!_ Spongebob rached into his pocket and put his hand on the book. _That's right Spongebob, now just take it out and put it back on the stool._ He started to pull it slowly out of his pocket, when the tree door came open. He shoved the diary back down, even deeper than before.

Sandy came out, carrying a platter of steaming-hot cookies. "Here we go!" she said, and set them down on the table. "Y'all wait just another minute, I'll be right back with the seahorse milk." she walked back inside.

Spongebob reached back into his pocket. But...when he tried to take Sandy's diary out, it was stuck. _Oh, come on!_ he thought, desperately tugging at the book.

He finally managed to pull it out, when Sandy came back outside. Spongebob shoved it back inot his pocket.

"Sorry Spongebob, I'm all out." she said.

Spongebob smiled. _Oh boy._


	9. Dear Dumb Diary

**Chapter 9 "Dear Dumb Diary"**

Spongebob stared at the little pink book that sat on his nightstand. Just stared at it. _You shouldn't have done it, Squarepants. She trusted you!_

Spongebob turned over and covered his head with his pillow, begging his conscience to let him sleep. _You can still read it, you know._ The bad side of his mind chided. _I mean, while you have it, you may as well see what she has to say about you._

He turned over again. _Don't touch that diary. How would you like it if someone took your personal thoughts and read them?_

Spongebob sat up in bed. "Stop fighting!" he shouted.

Gary crawled up onto the bed. "Meow." he said.

"Shoulder angels?" Spongebob repeated. He sighed. "I know how to fix this," he muttered. He got up out of bed and slid down to his library. He counted a couple of books, and finally pulled out a black notebook titled "Spongebob's Diary." He opened it up to the first page.

_Dear diary,_

_Today, I met a land squirrel. She's really cool! She knows karate (hi-YAH!) and I like the way she talks. She wears this funny looking helmet. Putting on airs, I think it's called. My best friend, Patrick, said that's just fancy talk. He says if you wanna be fancy, hold your pinky up. I'm going to Sandy's (that's the name of the squirrel) house tomorrow. I really like Sandy, I hope I don't blow it!_

Spongebob laughed out loud at the rememberence. He turned the page.

_Dear diary,_

_AIR IS NOT GOOD! I went to Sandy's "Air Bubble" today. There's no water there! I tried really hard not to freak out...she liked the flowers I bought her, though. When she found out I needed water, she only laughed and said "If y'all needed water, you should a asked!" Ah, Sandy. I feel like I can tell her anything, even though I just met her! ANYTHING!_

Spongebob sighed. "Yeah, until I stole her diary." he turned a couple of pages, skipping ahead to Sandy's homesick incident.

_Dear diary,_

_Today was dangerous. Sandy almost tore my limbs off! I suppose it was partially my fault. I _did_ make fun of Texas. She ended up forgiving me, though. Lucky, too, or I could have been turned into oatmeal! She told me she could _never_ be mad at me forever, despite what she often says. I'm glad, too, because I have a bad feeling that, one day, I'll do something unforgivable. I hope I don't!_

Spongebob huffed. "Yeah, me too." He closed the diary. "Please give me an answer!" he whispered, and opened up to a random page.

_Dear diary,_

_Oh my gosh, I made SO much of an idiot out of myself today. I can still feel my cheeks burning. I kept ripping my pants...on purpose! I was only doing it at first because it was making Sandy laugh. Ah boy, do I love hearing that laugh! But after a while, I guess it got old. Sandy stopped talking to me, and went to hang out with _Larry _Don't get me wrong, I like Larry and all, but...I hate when he takes Sandy from me. He's so...so...so flirty! I dunno, I guess it kinda makes me jealous when he takes Sandy's attention from me. Anyway, Sandy told me to just _be myself_, because she likes me for ME, not for some comedian. It's till good to make her laugh, but I think I just have to not try so hard._

He closed the diary and sighed. "Ill figure it out tomorrow," he told himself. He replaced the diary on the shelf, and climbed back up to his bedroom. He sat on his bed and stared at the clock. It was 12:00 A.M. "Oh, why did I have to do that?" he asked Gary. Gary was asleep. Spongebob's gaze wandered back to Sandy's diary. It was awfully tempting...

_No!_ He refused to invade her privacy. Oh, but such a tempting secret...

Spongebob looked out his window, than back at the book. He ran his fingers along the cover. He put his fingers underneath the first page, and slowly opened it...


	10. The Return

**Chapter 10 "Return"**

Spongebob slammed the book shut with his free hand, crushing his fingers. He had almost read Sandy's diary! He wanted to punch himself, but wasn't quite sure how he would do that.

"Shame on you!" he whispered to himself. He climbed into bed. "Go to sleep, Spongebob, you have work tomorrow!"

THE NEXT DAY

Spongebob walked through the front doors of the Krusty Krab looking sleep-deprived. He had dark circles under his bloodshot eyes. His clothes look like he'd tried to put them on in a dark closet, and his expression suggested he'd been locked in one.

Squidward laughed mockingly at the fact that Spongebob had actually been later than himself.

Mr. Krabs entered the room, looking slightly taken-aback by his fry-cook's appearance.

"Great barrier reef Spongebob, what happened to ya? Did you get taken hostage overnight?"

"No, Mr. Krabs," Squidward interjected, "I know what's wrong! He was up all night worrying that I might out-work him today!" Squidward returned to his crazy, mean laughter.

Mr. Krabs chuckled, but not to make fun of Spongebob. "Is that all, me boy?" he asked. "Well, ye don't have to worry yer little yella head 'bout that. You do more work in one day than this lazy guy does in a week!" he said, and laughed.

Spongebob smiled briefly, and then made his way to the kitchen.

Work was slow that day. At one point, Spongebob found himself staring at nothing, letting several patties burn to a crisp, setting off the smoke alarm and drenching all the customers from the overhead sprinklers.

Mr. Krabs came running into the kitchen. "Spongebob, what's goin' on in here?" he demanded.

Spongebob, snapping back to reality, grabbed the fire extinguisher, and covered the grill in a cool white foam.

"Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Krabs! I've got something hard to do after work, and I guess it's just distracting me. I'll be more vigilant, I promise!"

Mr. Krabs shook his head. "Boy, you had better, or I'm gonna make work a whole lot harder for you!"

Spongebob nodded. "Yes, sir!"

Mr. Krabs left the kitchen.

"Stay focus!" Spongebob murmured to himself. "Mind on work." he cleared off the grill and put a fresh set of patties on. "Keep your mind on work!" Spongebob told himself. "But...what about after work?" he shuddered. _You'll get nothing more than what you deserve!_ His mind told him. _In fact, you'll probably get lucky and she won't kill you!_

_BUZZ! BUZZ! BUZZ!_

Spongebob realized her was burning the patties again. He rushed to fix the problem, but it was too late.

"Spongebob!" Mr. Krabs' angry should could be heard before he even burst through the kitchen door.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Krabs!" Spongebob said pleadingly, once again using the fire extinguisher.

"That's it, boy!" Mr. Krabs declared. "I get the feeling yer just using work today to put off this 'hard thing', whatever that is."

"Oh no, Mr. Krabs! I'm not doing anything of the sort!" Spongebob protested...although Mr. Krabs _did_ kinda have a point.

"Boy, I want you to go! Go and get this offa yer chest."

"But--Mr. Krabs!" Spongebob was NOT ready to face up to this yet!

"Go, boy! Now!" Mr. Krabs pointed a big red claw at the door.

Reluctantly, eyes dropped to the floor, Spongebob walked out of the restaurant.

-----

Sandy was sitting in her treedome watching TV, when she heard a knock at the door.

"Coming!" she called. She got up, leaving the television on, and opened the front door.

There stood Spongebob, and he looked sick.

"Hey, Spongebob!" she said. "Why ain't you at work?"

Spongebob seemed to be avoiding eye contact. "Mr. Krabs let me off early," he murmured.

"Well, why the look?" she asked.

Spongebob sighed. "Sandy, there's--uh...something I have to tell you..."

"Well, what is it?" Sandy asked, quietly. "It must be bothering you for you to be acting like this."

Spongebob stared at his shoes. "Yesterday, when I came over, I--I..." he pulled a little pink book out of his pocket. "I took this,"

Sandy immediately recognized the item as her diary. She took it from him, slowly, processing his words. "You, you took my diary?" she looked from the book to Spongebob's face, to see his sapphire-blue eyes brimming with tears.

"I know, it was wrong...I--I didn't read it, if that helps," his little yellow hands were shaking. "Look, I know that I probably deserve to be hung up by my feet and left there..." his voice was starting to crack. "Just...do what you will to me, but just make sure I can get to work tomorrow." he closed his eyes tightly.

Sandy looked back at her diary, then again at Spongebob. She knew she should punch his lights out. She _knew_ she should kick him so hard that he had to take a plane to get back to Bikini Bottom.

But, looking at his apologetic little figure, the couple of tear drops on his face, and the way his clenched fists were shaking from fear, she wasn't mad at him. The fact that he _could have_ read her diary, and he _didn't_, and then he came and told her the truth, _knowing_ that she could have done something terrible and/or painful to him, made her smile. It almost made her laugh, and she had to stifle a giggle.

She cleared her throat, and lay a hand of Spongebob's shoulder. He flinched at her touch, but after he realized she was being gentle, he slowly opened his eyes. Sandy smiled broadly.

"You, you're not mad?" Spongebob asked, slowly.

Sandy had to laugh. "No, I'm not," she said. "I should be, but I'm not." she set her diary down, and softened her voice. "You came to me and told me the truth, Spongebob, and in the end, you ended up respecting my privacy." she wrapped her arms around him in a hug. "That's really what matters."

He returned her embrace, and, with relief in his voice, said "I'm sorry, Sandy. I won't do it again."

END

**Thanks for reading! That's gonna have to do for book 1, but I'm gonna get to stepping on book 2 here shortly. It will have more of the other characters in it. I know this one consisted mostly of Spongebob and Sandy, but all of the story plots I could think of had a lot of Sandy in them. So, I hope you liked this one enough to check up on the next one!**

**Once again, comments and feedback are highly appreciated. I want to thank PixieQueen (what's the numbers at the end of your name?) or sbpixie (youtube account) for pointing me to this website. We met on youtube, and since have started a Spongebob/Sandy fan club that consists of a few Internet buddies. So, if you want to join then visit either my youtube account ( or visit Pixie's ( and send us a letter or leave a comment, and we'll be happy to add you to the list. Stay tuned for the next book!**

**Hope you enjoyed! **

**Meg**


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